LC 1756 
.K4 
Copy 1 



S COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE CURRIC 

ULA FOR MEN AND WOMEN IN THE 

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES 

OF THE UNITED STATES 



A THESIS 

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School 

of Cornell University for the degree of 

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 



BY 



MARGUERITE WITMER KEHR 



Reprinted from the Journal of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, 
Vol. XIV, No. 3, December, 1920 



A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE CURRIC- 
ULA FOR MEN AND WOMEN IN THE 
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES 
OF THE UNITED STATES 



A THESIS 

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School 

of Cornell University for the degree of 

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 1 1 "^o 



BY 



MARGUERITE WITMER KEHR J ^ ^ o - 



Reprinted from the Journal of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, 
Vol. XIV, No. 3, December, 1920 



i.C''! 






1. IS- tt 



A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE CURRICULA FOR MEN AND 

WOMEN IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES OF 

THE UNITED STATES 

Marguerite Kehr, 



The problems of education are 
continually under discussion and 
this is especially true at a time 
when the critical spirit aroused 
by the war is weighing the merits 
of all our social institutions. The 
education of women will . have a 
large share in this criticism be- 
cause women have demonstrated 
during the war ability not only 
to do their own work but also to 
step into men's places when neces- 
sary. The conditions of the war 
and its aftermath "will constitute 
a challenge to the colleges, force 
us to analyze the place of women 
in society and to draw conclusions 
from this analysis as to the 
methods and types of education 
best adapted, not to the voca- 
tional or the cultural needs of 
women, but to the social contribu- 
tions which they are expected to 
make through every phase of 
their contacts with the com- 
munity, vocational or otherwise."^ 

As a contribution to this dis- 
cussion, the writer made a com- 
parative study of the educational 
opportunities open to women with 
those of a similar kind open to 
men, since it is a common assump- 
tion that institutions for men set 
the standard. The first part of 
this paper is devoted to a brief 
summary of method and results, 
while the second part deals with 



1 Mary van Kleeck: A Census of 
College Women. Journal of the Asso- 
ciation of Collegiate Alumnae, Vol. IX, 
No. 9, May, 1918, p. 570. 



the conclusions drawn from these 
results. 

Since there are three types of 
higher educational institutions 
open to women, it was necessary 
to make a selection from each. 
In order to choose colleges of the 
highest grade, use was made of 
the lists of accredited institutions 
prepared by the Association of 
American Colleges, the Associa- 
tion of American Universities and 
the Carnegie Foundation for the 
Advancement of Teaching. A 
further criterion employed was 
the chapter list of the Phi Beta 
Kappa honorary fraternity. 
Independent Colleges for Women 
Among the institutions of this 
type the following were selected 
as typical of the best schools in 
the group and as representing 
differences in size and nature : 

Students 

Smith 2,078 

Vassal- 1,120 

Holyoke 857 

Goucher 712 

Wells : 234 

Students 

Yale 1,391 

Princeton 1,220 

Williams 554 

Bowdoin 456 

Trinity 227 

(In Connecticut) 

The second column lists five 
independent colleges for men 
chosen on the same basis and ap- 
proximating in some degree the 
size of the women's colleges with 
which they were compared. The 
figures given are limited to the 
undergraduate college of arts 

3 



and sciences in the men's institu- 
tions since that is most closely- 
akin to the colleges for women. 
All the latter named above are 
members of the Association 'of 
American Colleges; all in both 
groups are listed by the Associa- 
tion of American Universities^ 
and by the Carnegie Foundation 
(with the exception of Goucher) ; 
and all but Wells have chapters 
of Phi Beta Kappa. 

The first step in comparing the 
curricula of these institutions (as 
described in their most recent 
catalogues) was the separation of 
required from elective work. The 
unit used was the semester hour, 
that is, one hour a week for a 
semester. The amount of re- 
quired work varies in the wom- 
en's colleges from 36 hours (Vas- 
sar) to 60 hours (Holyoke) and 
in the men's colleges from 24 
hours (Williams) to 84 hours 
(Trinity).- The latter figures 
should probably be smaller since 
they include some preparatory 
work. The required subjects 
common to the majority of schools 
in both groups' are the same, with 
the addition of Economics and the 
omission of History and Bible in 
some of the institutions for men. 
A comparison of the nature and 
amount of required work, there- 
fore, showed only slight differ- 
ences which balance rather evenly. 
Colleges for women tend to em- 
phasize English and History, 



1 Yale and Princeton are members 
of the Association. 

2 120 semester hours are required 
for the degree in all the independent 
colleges studied. 

■•Classics, Modern Languages, Eng- 
lish, History, Mathematics, Science, 
Philosophy (Psychology), Bible, Eco- 
nomics. 



while men's colleges give more 
attention to Modern Languages, 
Mathematics and Science. A fur- 
ther difference is found in the B. 
S. and Ph. B. courses in the latter 
institutions which permit a stu- 
dent to complete the course with- 
out work in the Classics. 

Since the number of hours re- 
quired for major and minor 
studies was found to be prac- 
tically the same, it is evident that 
both groups permit almost the 
same freedom of election. The 
next step was, accordingly, a 
comparison of all courses offered. 
Since four of the men's colleges 
confer two baccalaureate degrees 
(in the college of arts and 
sciences), one would expect to 
to find wider scope in their curri- 
cula than in the colleges for 
women. Such is nat the case, for 
a comparison of the subjects 
common to the majority of insti- 
tutions in both groups* showed 
that the colleges for women offer 
a larger number of hours in most 
of the subjects named. It is re- 
markable that this should be true 
of almost all the main divisions 
into which the curriculum can be 
divided: Classics, Modern Lan- 
guages, English, History, Educa- 
tion and its allied subjects. Math- 
ematics and the Fine Arts. There 
is approximate equality in Eco- 
nomics-Political Science-Sociology 
and in Science, but in none of these 
divisions do the institutions for 
men offer a larger number of 
hours. This may in some degree 



<■- Archeology, Latin, Greek, German, 
French, Spanish, Italian, English, 
Public Speaking, History, Economics, 
Political Science, Sociology, Bible, Edu- 
cation, Philosophy, Psychology, Math- 
ematics, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, 
Geology, Geography, Biology, Physiolo- 
gy, Hygiene, Art, Music. 



be explained by the fact that the 
women's colleges chosen are all 
slightly larger, — both in number 
of students and in total number 
of hours in the curriculum — than 
the corresponding arts colleges of 
the men's institutions. 

There remained, however, a 
further comparison necessary for 
a complete understanding of the 
nature of the institutions in each 
group, and it was here that the 
difference between independent 
colleges for men and for women 
became evident. Many of the 
former have developed schools or 
colleges for professional training 
while none of the latter provides 
any organized work of this kind. 
The nearest approach is found in 
the Smith College Training School 
for Social Work, open to college 
graduates, which provides two 
summer sessions at the college 
and nine months of field work. 

In order to make sure that the 
above statement with regard to 
omission of professional training 
is true of independent women's 
colleges as a group, the remain- 
ing schools of approximately 
equal rank were studied. Ean- 
dolph-Macon Woman's College 
provides no professional training. 
Bryn Mawr has a graduate de- 
partment of Social Economy and 
Social Research which prepares 
women for positions in social and 
industrial work. There is also a 
Graduate Department of Educa- 
tion for the training of teachers, 
of which the Phebe Anne Thorne 
Model School is a part. Welles- 
ley provides some work for pros- 
pective kindergarten teachers and 
also courses for the training of 
teachers of hygiene and physical 
education. From the foregoing, 
it is evident that so far as under- 



graduate work is concerned, the 
colleges of this group offer prac- 
tically no organized courses of 
professional study. In this con- 
nection it is of interest to note 
that the program of the Connecti- 
cut College for Women, founded 
only about five years ago, incor- 
porated at the outset professional 
courses to prepare the way for 
the establishment of various pro- 
fessional schools. 

Affiliated Colleges for Women 

In this group of educational in- 
stitutions are included those col- 
leges for women which are under 
the control of universities for 
men. There are less than a dozen 
such colleges, and the relation 
between college and university 
varies greatly even among this 
small number. The selection of 
Radcliffe and Barnard, however, 
which are the two best known, to- 
gether with the College for Wom- 
en (at Cleveland), representing- 
a different section of the country, 
seemed to furnish a fair basis for 
a study of the affiliated colleges 
for women.^ In Radcliffe the 
faculty is composed entirely of 
men chosen from the Harvard 
faculty and the courses are identi- 
cal with Harvard courses. De- 
grees, however, are conferred in 
the name of Radcliffe College. 
Graduates from Barnard and the 
College for Women, on the other 
hand, receive their degrees from 
the university, though the course 
of study and faculty are largely 
under the control of the woman's 



1 Columbia and Harvard Universi- 
ties are members of the Association of 
American Universities and Western Ee- 
serve University is listed by the Asso- 
ciation. All are listed by the Carnegie 
Foundation and have chapters of Phi 
Beta Kappa. 



college. For purposes of valid 
comparison, only the undergradu- 
ate college of arts and sciences 
for men was considered, since 
that is most nearly parallel to the 
Avoman's college : 

Students 

Barnard College 664 

Eadeliffe College 560 

College for Women 542 

Students 

Columbia College 1,486 

Harvard College 2,182 

Adelbert College 365 

(Western Eeserve University) 
In considering the required 
work in these colleges, it was 
found that the members of the 
two groups differ far more widely 
among themselves than do col- 
leges of the independent type. 
The number of semester hours 
required is approximately as fol- 
lows : 

Barnard 56-62 (120) i 

Eadeliffe 6-18 (102-105) 

College for Women— 18 (120) 

Columbia 39-45 (124) 

Harvard 6-18 (102-105) 

Adelbert 34 (120) 

Differences between the sub- 
jects required by Barnard and 
Columbia are shown by the fol- 
lowing lists : 

Columbia: English, Mathematics, Sci- 
ence, Latin, Greek or Modern Lan- 
guages, Contemporary Civilization. 
Barnard: English, Mathematics, Science, 
Latin or Greek, Modern Languages, 
History, Philosophy (Psychology), 
Economics, Fine Arts. 

The College for Women pre- 
scribes no individual subjects 
but requires distribution of work 
among three groups: Language 
and Literature, Mathematics and 
Science ; History, Philosophy and 
Social Science. Adelbert College, 
on the other hand, makes definite 
requirements of the following : 

1 The figures in parentheses indicate 
the number of semester hours required 
for the degree. 



English, Mathematics ; Bible ; 
Chemistry, Modern Languages, 
Ancient Languages or History. 
Students at Radcliffe and Har- 
vard must study English and 
Modern Languages unless the 
equivalents of certain courses are 
passed in admission examinations. 
The number of hours necessary 
for the completion of major and 
minor subjects is the same for 
both parts of the same institution. 
. When the total number of hours 
in all subjects offered was com- 
pared for the two groups, the re- 
sults were far from uniform. 
Taken as a whole, the differences 
at Barnard and Columbia offset 
each other — Barnard leading in 
Classics, English, History, Math- 
ematics and Art, while Columbia 
is superior in Economics and its 
allied subjects, in Education- 
Philosophy-Psychology and in Mu- 
sic. The College for Women 
seems to have a slight advantage 
over Adelbert College especially 
in English, History, Education- 
Philosophy-Psychology, Mathema- 
tics, Art and Music. Harvard, on 
the other hand, offers consider- 
ably more work than Radcliffe in 
all subjects except Education, 
Geology, Geography and Biology. 
Taken as a whole, the colleges 
for men may claim some superiori- 
ty in the extent of their curri- 
cula. 

In making a further compari- 
son with reference to professional 
training, differences between the 
three universities were at once 
apparent. Harvard does not ad- 
mit women to any of its profes- 
sional schools, which include the 
Engineering School, Law School, 
Graduate School of Business Ad- 
ministration, School of Architec- 
ture, School of Landscape Archi- 



6 



tecture, Bussey Institution, Divin- 
ity School, Medical School and 
Dental School.^ At Columbia, the 
School of Law and the School of 
Mines, Engineering and Chemis- 
try are not open to women, but 
the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons, the New York College 
of Pharmacy, the School of Archi- 
tecture, the School of Journalism, 
the School of Business, and Teach- 
ers College admit women students. 
Moreover, certain courses in Co- 
lumbia University, in Teachers 
College, in the Union Theological 
Seminary and in the New York 
School of Philanthropy may be 
counted toward a Barnard de- 
gree. By these arrangements, 
educational opportunities offered 
by Columbia to the woman stu- 
dent are greatly increased and it 
is made possible for her to pur- 
sue a course in arts and sciences, 
a professional course, or a com- 
bination of the two, and remain 
at the same time a member of 
the university community. West- 
ern Reserve University admits 
women to all of its professional 
schools which include : The School 
of Medicine, The Law School, The 
Dental School, The Library 
School, The School of Pharmacy 
and the School of Applied Social 
Sciences. Moreover, in addition 
to the courses of study in the Col- 
lege for Women leading to the 
degree of Bachelor of Arts, there 
is a four-year course in House- 
hold Administration leading to 
the degree of Bachelor of Science. 

Coeducational Institutions 

Coeducational colleges and uni- 
versities present a wide variety in 



1 Since this material was prepared 
Harvard has opened its new graduate 
school of Education for men and women. 



size, in proportion of men to 
women, in curriculum and in or- 
ganization. For the purposes of 
this study a division was made in- 
to two groups — state institutions 
and privately endowed institu- 
tions, and an attempt was made 
to include different types within 
each group. Since the work 
of these institutions is the same 
for men as for women, no com- 
parisons are necessary and a brief 
summary will suffice. 

Of the state universities, Cali- 
fornia, Michigan, Vermont and 
Texas were chosen from different 
sections of the country. All of 
these universities are listed by 
the Association of American Uni- 
versities,- all have chapters of 
Phi Beta Kappa, and all, with the 
exception of the University of 
Texas, are listed by the Carnegie 
Foundation. 

Of the privately endowed insti- 
tutions, the following were se- 
lected as representing a variety 
of types and sections of the coun- 
try : Washington University, 
Oberlin College, University of 
Cincinnati, Swarthmore College, 
Vanderbilt University and Pomo- 
na College. These institutions 
are all listed by the Association of 
American Universities, and also 
by the Association of American 
Colleges (with the exceptions of 
Washington and VanderbiltJ ; 
they are listed by the Carnegie 
Foundation (with the exception 
of Pomona) ; and all have chap- 
ters of Phi Beta Kappa. 

Among the state universities 
the required work in the college 
of arts and sciences shows consid- 
erable variation. The University 
of Vermont offers six curricula : 



2 California and Michigan are mem- 
bers of the Association. 



Classical, Literary-Scientific, Gen- 
eral Science, Chemistry, Educa- 
tion, and Commerce-Economics. 
The number of hours required 
ranges from 38 to 62 and the re- 
quired subjects common to most 
of the curricula are English, 
Modern Languages, Science, 
Mathematics and Philosophy 
(Psychology). The University of 
Texas has five courses : Arts, Busi- ■ 
ness Administration, Journalism, 
Home Economics and Medicine, 
the required work varying from 
50 to 68 hours and having as sub- 
jects common to all, English, 
Mathematics, Languages, Science, 
Economics-Co vernment - Sociolog}^ 
and Philosophy (Psychology). 
The only required study, aside 
from major courses, at the Uni- 
versity of California is English 
Composition.^ The University of 
Michigan provides courses of 
study in Arts, Science, Chemistry, 
Forestry and Medicine. In Arts 
and in Science six hours of Rhe- 
tortic are required and twelve 
hours from each of the following 
groups : Language and Literature, 
Mathematics and Science, His- 
tory and allied subjects. For the 
two remaining curricula, the re- 
quired subjects common to both 
are English, Science, Mathematics, 
and Modern Languages. "Wash- 
ington and Vanderbilt are the 
only privately endowed institu- 
tions studied which confer more 
than one degree in the college of 
arts and sciences. 

The total ratio of required sub- 



1 124 semester hours are required for 
tlie degree. 



jects to total number of hours is 

as follows : 

Oberlin _J 48-56:120 

Washington 39-45:120 

Cincinnati 56:124 

Swarthmore 43:124 

Pomona ^— 54-60:126 

Vanderbilt 50:128 

The subjects common to the 
majority of these institutions are 
Ancient and Modern Languages, 
English, History, Philosophy 
(Psychology), Mathematics and 
Science. 

The number of hours required 
for major and minor subjects in 
state and privately endowed insti- 
tutions is much the same. State 
universities show greater varia- 
tion in required work and a wider 
range of subjects included in 
their complete curricula. More- 
over, with the exception of Ver- 
mont, they offer more courses in 
practically all subjects common to 
the two groups. This is particu- 
larly noticeable in Modern Lan- 
guages, English (especially at 
California), Economics and its 
allied subjects, and Science. 

The professional training pro- 
vided by coeducational institu- 
tions as a group, both in special 
curricula and in professional 
schools and colleges, is varied in 
nature and quite extensive li 
amount. This will be enumerated 
in detail in the second part of this 
paper. 

The foregoing descriptive 
study of colleges and universities 
representing the three types, — in- 
dependent, affiliated and coedu- 
cational, has shown that in the 
first two there is but little dif- 
ference between the curricula for 
men and for women if the com- 
parison is limited to work in arts 
and sciences. There is a tendency 
among the colleges for women to 



emphasize Literature, Languages 
and the Fine Arts, although this 
is by no means at the expense of 
Mathematics, Science, or History 
and its allied subjects. The dif- 
ference lies in the fact that in- 
stitutions for men have developed 
professional training while col- 
leges for women, with the excep- 
tion of some institutions of the 
affiliated type, have made almost 
no progress along this line. 

When women's colleges came 
into existence, it was still neces- 
sary to demonstrate that women 
were capable of performing men- 
tal work of the character provided 
for men and the course of study 
was therefore closely modelled 
after that of institutions for men. 
With the passing of time, men's 
colleges have broadened and di- 
versified their curricula, but thus 
far women's colleges have made 
little effort to follow their ex- 
ample. With the increasing com- 
plexity and specialization of our 
business and professional life, a 
higher degree of preparation is 
demanded of the college gradu- 
ate, and this pressure has led to a 
corresponding development with- 
in the institutions for men. The 
opportunities for women in the 
professions and in business are 
not so numerous as for men, and 
according to the prevailing opin- 
ion of college authorities, home- 
making and teaching, which 
claim the majority of women 
graduates, require no special 
preparation. For these reasons, 
there has not been so insistent a 
demand for change and expansion 
in the course of study. 

Coeducational institutions ad- 
mit men and women on equal 
terms to all departments, so that 
the problem here is different; for 



women have the same opportuni- 
ties for professional training that 
men have. Whether this practice 
is sound in principle and success- 
ful in execution is a question 
which will be discussed in a later 
section. 

In considering the general prob- 
lem of professional training for 
women, the first question which 
naturally arises is how to justify 
the inclusion of any training of 
this kind in their college educa- 
tion. Do not the curricula of the 
independent and affiliated colleges, 
as at present constituted, offer all 
that is necessary for the higher 
education of women? With this 
question we raise the general 
problem of so-called "cultural" 
as opposed to ''vocational" edu- 
cation. This is one of the great 
storm-centers in the field of edu- 
cation today. Even the human- 
ites and pure sciences have de- 
clared a truce in order to join 
forces against a common enemy, 
— the vocational and technologi- 
cal interests. Any attempt to 
reach a solution of this much ar- 
gued question would carry us too 
far afield. In many respects the 
antithesis between vocational and 
cultural is largely verbal because 
it is impossible to draw a clear 
dividing line between them. For 
instance, the study of Latin or 
Mathematics may be for a purely 
vocational purpose, that is, as a 
preparation to teach them. On 
the other hand, if the term voca- 
tional is used in its broadest sense 
as the training of an individual 
toward the work for which he or 
she is best fitted, there is no rea- 
son why such an education should 
not be cultural as well. For ex- 
ample, the woman who plans to 
enter the business world needs a 



broad literary and scientific train- 
ing as a foundation for any tech- 
nical preparation which she may 
find necessary. These two aspects 
are not mutually exclusive, as 
would appear from a great deal of 
the discussion concerning them, 
since, whenthe success of a woman 
is measured by her contribution 
to society as a whole, we see that 
both are essential and the barrier 
between them falls away. While 
it is impossible within the limits 
of the present study to give ade- 
quate consideraton to this prob- 
lem, certain considerations may 
be urged in favor of the develop- 
ment of professional training for 
women in institutions of higher 
learning. 

Any study of professional 
training for women is complicated 
at the outset by the fact that the 
average woman looks forward to 
two vocations — that of home- 
making and that of the profession 
chosen as a means of support or 
of service. Whichever one is un- 
dertaken first, the other is at least 
a possibility. Sometimes the two 
come into conflict and a choice 
must be made between them. 

Let us consider first the need 
of professional training for the 
home-maker. Until the movement 
for their higher education began, 
women usually regarded marriage 
as their only possible career. 
With the opening of schools to 
women and with the extension of 
their world into professional, 
business and political spheres, 
this career has seemed to lose its 
pre-eminence. Perhaps one rea- 
son for this is the entire exclu- 
sion from the average college 
curriculum of any reference to 
home-making as a profession, al- 
though in the census made by the 



Association of Collegiate Alum- 
nae,^ the percentage of those 
who married (39.1%) was found 
to be greater than the percentage 
of those engaged in all occupa- 
tions other than teaching (22.8%). 

The first figure mentioned is 
not an accurate index for it does 
not include many members of 
the younger and larger classes, 
since there is an average period of 
five years between graduation and 
marriage. So long as the colleges 
give no recognition to the import- 
tance of this occupation, so long 
will the college graduate fail 
to see its vital necessity and real 
dignity. Yet failure or success 
in this career involves far-reach- 
ing consequences. The efficiency 
and happiness of all the members 
of a household are to a large ex- 
tent in the hands of the wife and 
mother, and this puts upon her a 
heavy responsibility which can- 
not be shifted to the shoulders of 
servants, no matter how numer- 
ous or how well-trained. More- 
over, society as a whole is vitally 
concerned in the vocational fit- 
ness of every mother, for the 
home is a fundamental social in- 
stitution and, if its rightful posi- 
tion is to be maintained, the pro- 
fesson of home-maker must be as 
dignified and resourceful as any 
other calling. 

At the present time the opinion 
seems to prevail that a general 
education is all that is necessarj^ 
for the efficient housewife. Ap- 
parently some kind of intuitive 
or instinctive knowledge should 
come to the aid of the home- 
maker. Yet in such a complicated 
and varied activity as that of 
managing a household, it is hard 



1 op. cit. p. 578. 



10 



to believe that either intuition or 
instinct of this kind will be suf- 
ficient, were their existence not 
often disproved. It is true that 
the college graduate usually has 
the ability to attack new prob- 
lems in a way to bring about a 
tolerable solution; but it is hard- 
ly fair for this reason to expose 
her to the hardship and heart- 
ache of learning by experience, 
even if that learning is subject to 
intelligent guidance, when she 
might be prepared in advance 
with some knowledge of the rudi- 
ments of her new profession. It 
may be suggested that the stu- 
dent's o%vn home should furnish 
the necessary training, but the 
summer vacation does not always 
offer a verj^ favorable opportuni- 
ty, especially if no thought has 
been directed to the vital and 
educational significance of such 
problems during the college year. 
Moreover progress in domestic 
pursuits, like progress in anything 
else, depends upon keeping abreast 
of the scientific aspects of the 
matter at hand, and a girl who 
learns from her mother does not 
always learn the most efficient 
methods. With the increasing 
difficulty in securing servants, 
prospective home-makers need to 
be acquainted with all the most 
modern mechanical devices for 
supplanting human labor. More- 
over, the colleges should do their 
share of research in discovering 
more labor-saving methods and 
machinery. There is the further 
possibility of high school courses 
or cooking school lectures. These, 
however, are likely to be ele- 
mentary and concerned more with 
the technique of household science 
than with the broad foundations 



and cultural aspects of the sub- 
ject. 

Nor is the value of training in 
home economics limited to the 
woman who marries, for many 
unmarried women find themselves 
with the conduct of a household 
on their hands. They, too, might 
be freed from anticipation of a 
good deal of drndger}^ and un- 
happiness by some knowledge of 
home management. Furthermore, 
with the increase in the number 
of wage-earners, there is a corres- 
ponding proportion of women who 
must live away from home and 
who would benefit by one of the 
man}^ forms of modern co-opera- 
tive housekeeping. In these days 
of the high cost of living, women 
who know something about dress- 
making and millinery are at a 
great advantage, not only with 
respect to the saving of money 
but also with respect to the possi- 
bility of wearing more individual 
and artistic dress. Home eco- 
nomics, prosaic as it may seem, 
affords, nevertheless, opportunity 
for real creation and an expres- 
sion of personality which might 
otherwise be impossible. And 
since, if the course be soundly* 
planned and taught, it must rest 
upon such fundamental subjects 
of instruction as Economics, 
Sociology, Biology, Chemistry, 
Psychology, Ethics and Esthetics, 
there is no reason why the appli- 
cation of these to the specific 
problems of the home should not 
be creative and cultural in the 
highest degree. 

Leaving for later discussion 
the practical applications of the 
above conclusions to the curricula, 
let us see what reasons can be 
advanced for the training of col- 



li 



lege women in professions other 
than home-making. 

In the first place it may be 
noted that the woman who later 
marries very often has need for 
some kind of professional train- 
ing. In the census already men- 
tioned which was taken by the As- 
sociation of Collegiate Alumnae 
in 1915 among the alumnae of 
Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Holyoke, 
Kadcliffe, Smith, Vassar, Welles- 
ley, Wells and Cornell, it was 
found that the median age at 
graduation was 22 years, while 
the median age at marriage was 
27 years and 3 months,^ thus 
leaving an average period of 
more than five years during 
which the college graduate seems 
likely to pursue an occupation of 
some sort. Moreover after she 
marries, sickness or death of the 
bread-winner may throw upon 
her the burden of supporting her- 
self and her children, with no op- 
portunity for preparation at the 
time. It should be a source of 
satisfaction to most women to feel 
themselves ready to meet such an 
emergency. 

Possibly the best argument for 
the inclusion of some kind of pro- 
'fessional training in the curricula 
of colleges for women is the fact 
that so large a proportion of col- 
lege graduates enter upon some 
profession. In the census to 
which reference has been made, 
it was found that 69.7% of the 
number reporting ^ were engaged 
in gainful occupations at some 
time after they left college. The 
number of women entering upon 
some vocation has been steadily 
increasing, with a considerable ac- 



1 op. cit., pp. 576, 579. 

2 Out of 23,582 Hving graduates, 
16,739 or 71% reported. 



celeration more latterly produced 
by the war; for many wom- 
en have been obliged to under- 
take work which had hitherto 
been performed only by men, and 
this has widened . the range of 
their opportunities also in the 
after-war period. Moreover, 
many women of the so-called lei- 
sure class, in order to share 
America's effort, undertook work 
of some kind, and they will not 
all be content to return to their 
former manner life. 

A further argument for the in- 
clusion of professional training is 
the fact that specialized training 
is more and more demanded and 
the college graduate without such 
preparation finds her field for 
choice of a career becoming lim- 
ited. It is also true that posi- 
tions calling for expert knowledge 
and executive ability are being 
constantly opened to women and 
the possibility of securing such 
positions depends upon training. 

For these reasons many women 
will be forced to forego the ad- 
vantages offered by colleges for 
women and enter institutions af- 
fording only a narrow and purely 
utilitarian professional training. 
Yet the results of this step may 
be harmful both to the individual 
and to the college; for it can- 
not but strengthen the position of 
a type of school which offers only 
a limited and a more or less me- 
chanical training. The profes- 
sional school is feared by the col- 
lege, because it so often falls into 
a superficial pandering to popular 
demand, but if the college has the 
strength of its convictions, it 
should be glad to humanize, ra- 
tionalize and make good and 
beautiful every vocation and pro- 



12 



fession to which men or women 
are called. 

It may be urged that all pro- 
fessional training should follow 
graduation from a college, and 
there are undoubtedly many ad- 
vantages in this plan. Unfortu- 
nately the majority of women 
cannot afford so great an expendi- 
ture of time and money, but must 
often begin to earn immediately 
after a four year college course. 
This is indicated by the figures 
obtained from 3,203 college grad- 
uates between 1910 and 1915 ; ^ 
for of this number 2,351 began 
work in less than one year after 
graduation; 559, after less than 
two years; 183 after less than 
three years ; and only 70 later 
than three years after graduation. 

Finally, a preparation for some 
calling in life guards one against 
wasted or scattering effort, since 
it tends to provide both a stand- 
ard of choice, and a means of or- 
ganized effort. Moreover a defi- 
nite career relates the individual 
more closely to her environment 
and thus makes her more truly 
a social being. Both of these 
functions are of the greatest 
worth to college students. 

The value of professional train- 
ing, however, is not limited to 
students as individuals ; the whole 
college community is benefited. 
Perhaps the chief criticism of col- 
leges for women is that they cre- 
ate a limited and artificial envi- 
ronment often quite out of touch 
with the everyday Avorld. There 
could be no better antidote for 
this than the atmosphere of reali- 
ty and far-reaching interests 
brought about by a more intimate 
relation of the college world to 



1 op. cit., 13. 575. 



life outside, through the medium 
of courses of study which give 
a cultural and scientific training 
for future vocations. In addition 
to this broadening and vitalizing 
effect upon the student, the col- 
lege is likewise enabled to extend 
its sphere of influence far more 
widely, since it can definitely af- 
fect many fields of human en- 
deavor. Ths is needed to help 
check the mercenary and short- 
sighted policy of much of our 
business and industrial life; and 
if the colleges will not take these 
matters to heart, what institu- 
tions will? 

Society as a whole benefits 
whenever it is touched with the 
spirit and ideals of institutions 
for higher learning, and this 
would be a necessary consequence 
were there a closer relation be- 
tween college curricula and the 
life of the world. One of our 
most pressing social problems is 
the cleavage and ill-feeling be- 
tween the leisure and labor 
classes. This opposition finds an- 
other expression in our disputes 
over vocational and cultural edu- 
cation. In lesser degree the same 
cleavage is found between the 
learned professions and manufac- 
turing, for instance. These are 
but the current forms of the di- 
vision made by Plato between 
men of the laboring and the mili- 
tary classes, and those who are 
capable of governing ; and by Ari- 
stotle between those individuals 
who exist as means for the ends 
of others, and those who are ends 
in themselves. Since the former 
classes were usually slaves in the 
Greek state while the latter en- 
joyed freedom, the gulf between 
them was wide and almost im- 
passable. Yet the survival of an 



13 



older aristocracy still continues 
its harmful influence in a society 
which is avowedly democratic, 
and this artificial distinction lies 
at the root of many of our present 
seemingly insoluble problems. If 
the colleges and universities are 
to maintain a position of leader- 
ship they must exert their influ- 
ence against this unnatural con- 
dition by teaching that every in- 
dividual should be capable of 
self-support, that labor of all 
kinds is noble, and that leisure 
and the things which make for 
culture rightfullj^ belong to all. 
To this end a desire to share in 
the world's work should be en 
couraged in college students and 
in no way can this be better ac- 
complished than by developing 
suitable parts of the curriculum 
to furnish a professional training 
which shall be truly cultural. A 
further contributio nto this end 
might be made hy research con- 
nected with various occupation-;, 
thus helping to afford them a 
more scientific basis and to lift 
them out of the realm of mere 
technologies. 



Let us now see to what extent 
colleges and universities of thi- 
thre-e types offer work which may 
be used in preparation for some 
of the vocations upon which the 
largest number of women gradua- 
ates enter, using the census al- 
ready mentioned as an index. 

The first occupation opened to 
women was teaching', and this 
now claims about half of the col- 
lege graduates, as is shown by the 
folloAving figures. ^ Of the 11,663 
graduates (69.7% of those report- 
ing) who were engaged in gainful 
occupations at some time after 
61 

1 op. cit., p. 560. 



they left college, teaching claimed 
83.5% (58.2% of all the graduates 
reporting). Since so large a pro- 
portion of college graduates be- 
come teachers, it would seem that 
more attention should be given to 
their preparation. Yet the pre- 
vailing opinion is that such a call- 
ing requires no specific training — 
that any college graduate who 
knows her subject is capable of 
teaching others. But the person 
who has the ability to master a 
subject may not be able to pre- 
sent it in such a way as to appeal 
to those who are less mature. 
She may not have the personality 
to win respect and affection from 
her pupils and thus succeed in 
discipline. That these statements 
are true is shown by the lamen- 
table failure of some of our col- 
lege-trained teachers, and by the 
inadequate preparation of fresh- 
men who enter our colleges and 
universities. 

The necessary training of a 
teacher may be given by the vari- 
our departments of the college 
which deal with high school sub- 
jects, by a Department of Educa- 
tion, or by both. The former 
gives the student special assist- 
ance in teaching a particular sub- 
ject; the latter furnishes her with 
a historical background, and a 
knowledge of the educationalj 
psychological and philosophical 
principles involved. Both are de- 
sirable if one is to have a fit prep- 
aration for this vocation. Since 
most college graduates teach in 
high school and deal with the dif- 
ficult period of adolescence, it 
ought to be obvious that knowl- 
edge of the psychology and peda- 
gogy of adolescence is indispens- 
able. It is also necessary that 
the prospective teacher should 
learn the place of education in 



14 



the world's progress and be able, 
in the light of history, to compre- 
hend more fully the significance 
and value of present educational 
theories and movements. She 
should also know something of 
systems of education of various 
kinds and in other parts of the 
world. In order that her work 
may have a scientific basis she 
should understand and be able to 
make use of the psj^ehological 
principles underlying the educa- 
tional process. Moreover she 
should realize the philosophical 
implications of education and its 
place in the hierarchy of learning. 
With this kind of background 
the prospective teacher comes to 
feel the dignity of her profession 
and has at her command a wealtli 
•of knowledge and experience 
from which she may draw to meet 
her OMai peculiar problems. This 
preparation gives her a sense of 
power as well as a sense of her 
responsibility to mankind, present 
and future. 

The colleges offer some work of 
this kind, although by no means 
so much as might be provided 
without destroying the balance of 
the curricula. Most of the insti- 
tutions of all three types offer 
courses in History and Principles 
of Education, Administraton and 
Method, Educational Psychology 
and Mental Tests. Several make 
provision for observation and 
pratice teaching, two give courses 
in Elementary Education, while 
a number list additional courses 
of various kinds. In methods and 
subject-matter, courses in the 
various high school subjects are 
provided in the following order: 
Science, History, German, Latin, 
English, French, Mathematics, 
Music, Home Economics, Greek. 



In addition to these courses, the 
following institutions have schools 
of Education or special four year 
courses for prospective teachers: 

Columbia University — Teachers College. 

College for Women— Special four year 
course for teachers of household 
arts. 

Michigan — Course in Education leading 
to Teacher's Diploma. 

California — School of Education. 

Vermont — Curriculum in Education. 

Texas — Department of Education com- 
prising four schools. 
Special four year course in Home 
Economics for teachers under the 
Smith-Hughes Act. 

Cincinnati — College for Teachers. 

Oberlin — Teachers' courses in Physical 
Education open only to men and 
women doing major work in that 
department. 

Pomona — Prescribed courses of study 
in preparation for teaching music or 
art in the i)ublic schools. Candi- 
dates for the B. A. degree must or- 
dinarily spend an additional year to 
complete one of these courses. 

Provision is made b.y the follow- 
ing to aid graduates in obtaining 
the necessary state teachers' cer- 
tificates: Holyoke, Goucher, Bar- 
nard, Michigan, Texas, Oberlin, 
Vanderbilt, Swarthmore, Cincin- 
nati and Washington. 

The cejisus already referred to 
indicates by the following figures 
the fact that the number of wom- 
en graduates engaged in gain- 
ful occupations other than teach- 
ing is increasing : 

Per cent. 

1880-1890 27.5 

1890-1900 29.2 

1900-1910 33.7 

1910-1915 34.5 

Since this growth is likely to 
continue and to be hastened by 
the effects of the war, training in 
a variety of occupations is of in- 
creasing importance. 

At the time of the census the 
vocation of the group second in 



15 



number to that of teaching was 
social service. The 471 women in 

this «>Toup were occupied as fol- 
lows : charity organization and 
work with families (114), indus- 
trial and vocational work (86), 
health (67), settlement work 
(67), child welfare (45), correc- 
tion and treatment of delinquency 
(33), recreational and club worlc 
(17), propaganda — peace, suf- 
frage, temperance (15) civic im- 
provement (14) housing (3), 
rural social service (2), miscel- 
laneous (8). 

The colleges make some contri- 
bution to training for this work, 
though here, too, much more 
might be done in the way of or- 
ganizing groups of studies help- 
ful toward some specific form of 
social work. Among the large 
number of courses which may be 
used in preparation for sociil 
service are the following, offered 
by most of the colleges : econom- 
ics, sociology, applied psycholo- 
gy, statistics, social work, labor- 
problems, business and industrial 
organizations, city problems. Pro- 
vision for field work in social ser- 
vice is made by the following: 
Goucher, Smith, College for Wom- 
en, Michigan and Swarthmore. 

Closely related to social service 
is the work of the woman who in- 
terests herself in city, state or 
national affairs. The number in 
this class is increasing rapidly by 
reason of capacities developed 
during the war, and also because 
of the broadening public duties 
of women. Courses in city, state 
and national questions are well 
represented in the college curri- 
cula. Since we have learned from 
the war that national policies are 
inextricably linked with those of 
other countries, study of interna- 



tional problems is also necessary 
for one who desires to take any 
real part in American affairs. 
Training in Public Speaking is al- 
so of value, as Avell as the poise 
and ability to handle people 
Avhich usually result from college 
activities outside the class-room. 
The general success of the college 
woman as a leader is too well- 
known to need discussion here. 

In addition to the courses al- 
ready listed, some of the institu- 
tions studied have special coar\es 
of study, or professional colleges, 
which give training for social and 
public service: 
Western Eeserve University — The 

School of Applied Social Sciences. 
College for Women — Four-year course 

in Home Economics for social 

workers. 
California — College of Commerce. 
Vermont — Curriculum in Economics and 

Commerce. 
Michigan — Curriculum in Municipal Ad- 
ministration. 
Course of study for Mental Testing 

in Social Clinics. 
Washington — School of Commerce and 

Finance. 
Cincinnati — College of Commerce. 

The next largest group (293) 
reported in the census taken by 
the Association of Collegiate 
Alumnae was engaged in library 
work as organizers, superintend- 
ents, librarians, cataloguers, clas- 
sifiers and indexers. For library 
work no technical preparation is 
provided in the independent col- 
leges or in the affiliated colleges, 
with the exception of the College 
for Women, where students may 
receive the degree of Bachelor of 
Science and the certificate of the 
Library School at the end of four 
years. Among the coeducational 
institutions, Texas and California 
offer a few courses in library sci- 
ence and Oberlin gives work in 
bibliography. 



16 



The next group in the census 
consisted of 260 women who held 
positions in the business world, 
some as executives and some as 
assistants. The varieties of work 
listed are of interest in showing 
the many fields which have al- 
ready been entered by women: 
mercantile — ^buyers, clerks, own- 
ers, manufacturers (53), publish- 
ing (37), manufacturing — execu- 
tives, forewomen, secretarie ;, 
translators (24), banking (18), 
advertising (14), insurance (14), 
public utilities (8), public type- 
"writing (2), miscellaneous (90). 
Business occupations listed as mis- 
cellaneous include in part: ac- 
countancy; management of apart- 
ment house, laundry, hotel, club, 
employment bureau, cemetery as- 
sociation, detective agency, pub- 
lic market ; electrical contracting ; 
dressmaking; industrial engineer- 
ing; real estate. 

No technical training for work 
in the business world is provided 
in either the independent or af- 
filiated colleges with the excep- 
tion of Barnard where a student 
may, upon completion of two 
years of college work, transfer tJ 
the School of Business in Colum- 
bia University. In the group of 
coeducational institutions, there 
is considerable opportunity for 
work preparatory to business : 
MicMgan — Curricula in Business Ad- 
ministration and in secretarial work. 
California — College of Commerce. 
Texas — School of Business Administra- 
tion. 
Vermont — Curriculum in Economics and 

Commerce. 
Washington — School of Commerce and 

Finance. 
Cincinnati — College of Commerce. 

The 203 women engaged in 
literary work represented the fol- 
lowing occupations: author, bibli- 
ographer, lecturer, editor, re- 



porter, correspondent, critic, 
reader, reviewer, press agent, 
translator. For some of these 
there is no specific professional 
preparation, although depart- 
ments of English can give valu- 
able assistance to those who look 
forward to such careers. The 
only organized preparation for 
literary work found among the 
independent and affiliated col- 
leges is at Barnard where a stu- 
dent may, upon completion of two 
years of college work, transfer 
to the School of Journalism in 
Columbia University. Among in- 
stitutions of the third type, Texas 
has a School of Journalism; Mich- 
igan has curricula in the subject ; 
and California and Vermont pro- 
vide certain courses. 

The next group (195) were de- 
voting themselves to religious 
work as deaconesses, missionaries, 
nuns, pastors' assistants, Y. W. 
C. A. secretaries, and so on. Of 
the total number, 162 were work- 
ing in the United States and 33 in 
foreign countries. Most of these 
occupations require special train- 
ing and because of the variety of 
religious organizations there 
would be little possibility of of- 
fering college courses which 
would be generally acceptable. 
However, training in social ser- 
vice is of value in all work of this 
kind and the colleges for women 
provide a considerable number of 
such courses, as has been shown 
already. Barnard students have 
the privilege of taking certain 
courses in Union Theological Sem- 
inary. The College for Women 
provides a course in The Social 
Institutions of Religion. More- 
over, Western Reserve University 
of which the College for Women i? 
a part, has established an Insti- 



17 



tute for Eeligioiis Education. 
Among the coeducational insti- 
tutions Vanderbilt has a School oi; 
Religion and Oberlin a Graduate 
School of Theology. 

Administrative work in the 
field of education claimed 170 
women, who held positions as 
lieads of houses, advisers, regis- 
trars, secretaries. Some of these 
demand business training and 
others require executive ability 
and social gifts. The former has 
already been considered. For the 
latter the many activities of col- 
lege life afford excellent training. 

The next group (162) were giv- 
ing personal service as private 
secretaries, companions, and 
mother's hel.oers. The '(ualifiea- 
tions are much the .-^ame as those 
mentioned for the preceding 
group. 

Professional pursuits claimed 
149 graduates, distributed as fol- 
lows: medicine (84), nursing (30), 
law (22), miscellaneous (7), ar- 
chitecture (4), engineering (1), 
and the ministry (1). The inde- 
pendent colleges offer almost no 
Avork of this nature. Smith, Holy- 
oke and Goucher list certain 
courses as helpful to those who 
plan to study medicine ; and a 
few courses in Architecture are 
given at Smith, Vassar, and 
Goucher. Among the affiliated 
colleges Radcliffe provides no in- 
struction for these professions. 
At Barnard, a student who com- 
pletes two or three years of work 
in arts and sciences may transfer 
without examination to the Col- 
lege of Physicians and Surgeons 
or to the School of Architecture 
of Columbia University. More- 
over, certain courses in the School 
of Architecture are open to regu- 
lar students in Barnard College. 



The College for Women permits 
its students to elect all of their 
senior work in the Schools of Law 
or Medicine of Western Reserve 
University. That coeducational 
institutions as a group are par- 
ticularly well equipped to give 
preparation for these professions 
may be inferred from the follow- 
ing list showing the number of 
professional schools incorporated 
in the institutions studied : chemi- 
cal engineering (8), mechanical 
engineering (8), civil engineering 
(8), medicine (7), electrical engi- 
neering (7), law (5), dentistry 
(4), pharmacy (4), nursing (4), 
architecture (4), mining engi- 
neering (2), ministry (2). Most 
of these colleges and universities 
permit election of certain studies 
in the arts and science curriculum 
which will shorten later work in 
one of the professional schools. 

The remaining groups in the 
census are small and need not be 
considered in detail : scientific 
pursuits (85), art (50), household 
arts and management (47), mu- 
sic (32), agriculture (30), the- 
atrical pursuits (21), museum 
work (16), miscellaneous (31). 
The independent and affiliated 
colleges for women offer inciden- 
tal training for a few of these 
occupations, such as scientific 
pursuits, art, music, theatrical 
pursuits, and museum work. In 
addition to this general prepara- 
tion, the College for Women pro- 
vides a special four year course 
in Household Administration and 
thus fits students for positions 
listed under Household Arts and 
Management. Moreover, by an 
arrangement with The Cleveland 
School of Art, a six-year course 
of study is offered, leading to the 
degree of Bachelor of Science. 



18 



Special work of this nature of- 
fered by coeducational institu- 
tions may be enumerated as fol- 
lows: 

California — College of Agriculture. 

California School of Fine Arts. 
Vermont — College of Agriculture. 
Washington — School of Fine Arts. 
Cincinnati — School of Household Arts. 
Courses may be elected in Art Aca- 
demy of Cincinnati. 
Oberlin — Courses in the Conservatory of 
Music. 

This exhausts the list of pro- 
fessions recorded by the census of 
the Association of Collegiate 
Alumnae, but leaves for consid- 
eration the kind of preparation 
provided for the home-maker by 
the three types of institutions. A 
brief summary will show the num- 
ber of hours offered in Home 
Economics by schools of the three 
kinds : 

Independent — Goueher 33 

x4ffiliated — College for Wom- 
en 72 

Coeducational — Vermont 12 

" —Texas 72 

" —California .--90 

The foregoing pages have at- 
tempted a brief summary of the 
preparation afforded by the three 
types of institutions for those pro- 
fessions which are most largely 
chosen by women college gradu- 
ntes. We shall now, in conclu- 
sion, endeavor to draw from 
these facts some suggestions for 
the further development of pro- 
fessional training by colleges 
and universities which admit 
women students. 

In the first place we may note 
that in all institutions, for men 
as well as for women, there is ur- 
gent need for vocational guid- 
ance. ^ There should be in each 



iJolm M. Brewer: The Need for 
Vocational Guidance in Colleges. School 
and Society, Vol. XI. No. 279, pp. 511- 
517. 



school some person, committee or 
bureau, in possession of informa- 
tion about all kinds of occupa- 
tions which are suitable for col- 
lege graduates.- By this means it 
would be possible for a student 
to survey the field before making 
a decision and thus avoid a more 
limited choice among the profes- 
sions which are . best known. 
Moreover there should be avail- 
able expert advice about the edu- 
cational and personal qualifica- 
tions necessary for each occupa- 
tion. This would help the stu- 
dent in planning his or her col- 
lege course and would prevent 
some of the misfits due to lack 
of the kind of personality re- 
quisite for success in a certain 
profession. 

Secondly, it is suggested that iu 
all instruction given by the col- 
leges an attempt be made to re- 
late the subject-matter to life and 
to the practical needs of the stu- 
dents, in order that the influence 
of higher institutions of learning 
may extend as widely as possible. 

In the third place, since the 
average woman can profit by some 
training in Home Economics, it 
would seem that all institu- 
tions training women should pro- 
vide work of this kind from which 
a student may elect according 
to her needs and desires. A 
general training may be sup- 
plemented later if necessary and 
the initial course need there- 
fore not be excessive in its de- 
mands. A woman might well 
know how to buy, how to plan 
and prepare wholesome food, how 
to provide suitable and artistic 
clothing and how to make her 

^ Bulletin on Vocations for Business 
and Professional Women compiled bv 
the Bureau of Vocational Information. 
Mav, 1919. 



19 



home comfortable aud beautiful. 
Her education should also include 
training in handling the bugbear 
of household finance, some knowl- 
edge of the care of children, some 
training in first aid and simple 
nursing for the many emergencies 
of the home, and above all the 
power to co-ordinate and expedite 
the working of the household ma- 
chinery so that the home-maker 
herself may have time for rest 
and for the pursuit of her own 
interests. 

The amount of work necessary 
for a broad foundation in this 
science could be included in the 
number of hours required for a 
major or a minor, or it could be 
included in the free electives 
without in any way interfering 
with the subjects which are at 
present required of all students. 
As an example of what the course 
of study in such a department 
might cover, it may be of interest 
to enumerate the courses offered 
at Goucher : 

Semesters. 
The Foundations of Home 

Economies 1 

The House 2 

Textiles and Clothing 2 

Foods 2 

Home Management and Die- 
tetics 2 

The Chemistry of Foods and 

Nutrition 2 

Finally, it is suggested that 
suitable parts of the curriculum 
be developed to afford some de- 
gree of preparation for a few of 
the occupations which large num- 
bers of graduates undertake. The 
demand for such a step is most 
urgent in the independent col- 
leges, for they provide no organ- 
ized professional training. Since 
so large a proportion of women 
graduates become teachers and 
since this profession is so vital a 

20 



necessity, the most obvious iieed 
of training lies here. Most of the 
colleges of this group have already 
developed some work of this 
character. The requirements for 
proper training of teachers may 
be stated as follows: (1) the gen- 
eral courses usually offered by de- 
partments of Education should be 
given such as History, Principles 
and Philosophy of Education, 
Educational Psychology, Mental 
Measurements, Administration and 
Method. (2) In addition to 
these, the number of "teachers' 
courses" should be increased so 
as to embrace all the subjects 
generally taught in a high school. 
Moreover, it is necessary that 
these courses should not only give 
knowledge of the subject, but 
also real assistance in its peda- 
gogy. To this end the instructor 
should, wherever possible, be one 
who has had experience in high 
school work, so that the college 
student may be brought face to 
face with some of the concrete 
problems concerned with the 
presentation of the subject-matter 
in a manner comprehensible to 
those of high school age and 
under the conditions of high 
school instruction. (3) Practice 
teaching and observation are of 
the greatest importance since by 
this means the student may have 
actual experience in teaching and 
thus learn whether she has the 
necessary qualifications for this 
profession. (4) It should also be 
the purpose of the college to as- 
sist students to plan their work 
so as to secure the necessary 
teachers' certificate. (5) For the 
supervision of athletics, publica- 
tions, plays and other activities, 
which are a part of the work re- 
qured of a high school teacher. 



the woman's college affords valu- 
able training through its college 
life. But these activities might 
be more definitely pointed, toward 
a future career than is often the 
case. 

Preparation for social and pub- 
lic service is also well within the 
power of the independent col- 
leges. In order to form an idea 
of the extent of training for 
social service already provided by 
the women's colleges it will be of 
assistance to compare it with the 
program of Simmons College 
which is, by the will of its 
founder, a vocational college for 
women. The four-year course of 
the School of Social Work leads 
to the degree of Bachelor of 
Science and consists of the fol- 
lowing studies : 

FIEST YEAE Hours 

English 6 

French or German 6 

Inorganic Chemistry 8 

History 6 

Physical Training 

SECOKD YEAE 

English 6 

Modern Language 6 

Economies 6 

Biology 3 

Bacteriology 3 

Sanitary Science (Public 

Health) 1 

Psychology of Child Life__ 2 

Sociology (The Family) 2 

History 6 

THIED YEAE 

Psychology 3 

Social Service 5 

Sociology (Social 

Institutions) 3 

Dietetics 3 

History of Education 3 

Principles of Teaching 2-3 

Institutional Accounts 3 

Economics of Consumption 6 

Elective 

FOUETH YEAE 

Statistics 2 

Theory and Practice of Social "Work: 

class instruction, practice, special 
toi^ic in connection with field work. 



If this course of study is com- 
pared with the required work 
of the independent colleges for 
women it will be seen that, with 
the exception of Latin and Greek, 
the academic work required at 
Simmons is quite as extensive as 
in the other colleges studied. 
Most of the women's colleges 
offer the general work in Eco- 
nomics, Sociology and Statistics 
which Simmons requires and also 
the more specialized studies such 
as Biology, Bacteriology, Public 
Health, Psychology of Child Life, 
History and Principles of Educa- 
tion; and Goucher has in addition 
a course in Dietetics. The gen- 
eral course in Social Service at 
Simmons includes the courses 
listed as Social "Work in the 
women's colleges. The chief dif- 
ference, then, lies in the prac- 
tical experience which is gained 
through the work of the fourth 
year, and even here one or two 
of the colleges for women pro- 
vide some field work. If the 
women's colleges would permit 
sufficient freedom of election, 
would organize the courses al- 
ready offered, and would provide 
a greater opportunity for field 
work, perhaps during vacations, 
the girl who wishes to enter the 
field of social service would have 
little difficulty in securing the 
necessary training during her col- 
lege life. 

Almost two-thirds of the re- 
quired and elective work in the 
course at Simmons in preparation 
for library work consists of 
academic work which is given in 
all the colleges. Since none of the 
independent colleges offers any 
technical work in library science, 
the girl wishing to enter this field 
would do well to plan her college 



21 



course with a view to securing 
her specialized training after 
graduation. Simmons and other 
schools provide a one-year pro- 
gram for college graduates. Vaca- 
tions may also be utilized to gain 
practical experience in the work. 

Training: for the business world 

must of necessity be varied since 
there are so many kinds of occu- 
pations included under this term. 
For this reason, anything more 
than a general introduction would 
be impossible in a woman's col- 
lege. The School of Secretarial 
Studies at Simmons includes 
about 60 hours in English, Modern 
Languages, History, Economics 
and Science. The professional 
studies include Penmanship, 
Shorthand and Typewriting. In 
the fourth year the course is 
differentiated in order to prepare 
for several types of work. By 
choosing the proper college 
courses and by doing practical 
work in Shorthand and Type- 
writing during the college year 
or in vacations, the student of a 
woman's college might approx- 
imate the course given at Sim- 
mons, with the exception of the 
more highly specialized work. 

It is doubtful whether the in- 
dependent colleges for women 
would be able to offer any organ- 
ized training for the other occu- 
pations listed in the census, but 
if they should develop sufficient 
preparation for teaching, social 
service and business, they would 
minister to the needs of the great 
majority of their students. In ad- 
dition they ought to be in a posi- 
tion to give students contemplat- 
ing other professions expert 
guidance in planning courses of 
study so as to shorten later spe- 
cialized training. 



The foregoing suggestions ap- 
ply in the main also to colleges 
for women of the affiliated type. 
These institutions as a group 
offer better training for the pro- 
spective teacher than do the in 
dependent colleges, but there is 
still room for improvement. The 
same is true of preparation for 
social service and for business. 
This type also affords a better 
training for literary work and the 
professions, such as medicine and 
law. The affiliated colleges stud- 
ied have the advantage of loca- 
tion in or near a large city which 
provides opportunity for field 
Avork and likewise that of addi- 
tional courses in various subjects 
offered by the universities of 
which they are a part, or by 
neighboring institutions. 

With regard to professional 
training, the affiliated colleges 
hold a position intermediate be- 
tween the independent colleges 
for women and the coeducational 
institutions. Radcliffe provides 
no professional training, with the 
possible exception of preparation 
for teaching, and is thus like the 
independent colleges. Students at 
Barnard and the College for 
Women, on the other hand, have 
opportunities practically the same 
as those for men and thus resem- 
ble the coeducational institutions. 
Because of this similarity these 
colleges must also be included in 
the consideration of the chief 
problem presented by the coedu- 
cational institutions : namely, 
whether it is sufficient to provide 
for women the same kind of pro- 
fessional training as for men. 

A comparison of the occupa- 
tions chosen by women with the 
nature of professional education 
provided by institutions of this 



type shows that the greater part 
of such training is directed 
toward occupations which com- 
paratively few women choose. 
The professional schools or curri- 
cula common to at least four in- 
stitutions of this group are 
the following:^ Engineering (8), 
Medicine (7), Business (6), Law 
(5), Pharmacy (4)j Dentistry (4), 
Architecture (4), Fine Arts (4), 
Nursing (4), Education (4). Of 
these professions, Business and 
Education rank high in the list of 
college women's occupations but 
all the others, with the exception 
of the Fine Arts, are included un- 
der the title of Professional Pur- 
suits which was ninth on the list of 
occupations in the census. Thus 
we see that the problem of the na- 
ture of professional training for 
women in coeducational institu- 
tions is a very real one. Unfortu- 
nately it is difficult and perhaps 
impossible to solve it in view of 
the present status of our knowl- 
edge. 

There are, indeed, certain sta- 
tistical studies, such as the census 
already referred to, which show 
the occupations chosen by women 
graduates. But these are not so 
reliable an index as might be sup- 
posed. In the first place, in many 
cases a woman's choice of a ca- 
reer may not be made as intelli- 
gently as it would be under more 
expert vocational guidance; for it 
is true that many students select 
one of the better known occupa- 
tions by way of experiment, in- 
tending later to discover where 
their real interest lies. It is to 
remedy this condition of affairs, 
with its consequent waste of time 
and effort, that vocational guid- 

1 — The figures represent the number 
of institutions studied which have such 
schools. 



ance for college students is being 
promoted.^ Moreover, graduates 
tend to choose professions for 
which their college training has 
prepared them, and, on the other 
hand, to plan their courses with a 
view to finding places in occupa- 
tions already open to women. 
This is a circular process and 
gives no indication of what their 
choice would be under ideal con- 
ditions. For such reasons studies 
of this kind are not an absolutely 
reliable guide to the real voca- 
tional tendencies of college wom- 
en. Much the same criticism 
may be made of the use of figures 
concerning the subjects which 
women elect in college as an in- 
dex to their interests. This fact 
was brought out in a study" made 
in 1917 among the students of six 
colleges for women. The follow- 
ing list shows the order in which 
courses in various departments 
were elected : 

JL — English. 

2 — ^Political Science. 

3 — Economics and Sociology. 

4 — Eomance Languages. 

5 — German. 

6 — Education (Psychology). 

7 — Social and Political Science. 

8 — History. 

9— Arts. 
10 — Music. 
11 — Biology. 
12 — Mathematics. 
13 — ^Latin. 

14 — Philosophy (Psychology). 
15 — Chemistry. 
16 — Botany. 
17 — Physics. 
18 — Biblical Literature. 
19— Greek. 
20 — Astronomy. 
21 — Geology. 
22 — Physiology. 
23 — Economics. 



1 Compiled by the Bureau of Vo- 
cational Information, May, 1919. 

2 H. L. Dealey: College Curricula 
and Interests of College Women. School 
and Society, Vol. X, No. 245, Sept, 6, 
1919, pp. 294-299. 



23 



In questioning the value of 
these figures as a trustworthy 
estimate, the author points out 
the following considerations: (1) 
" . . The real interests of students 
do not mature until one, five or 
ten years after graduation, for 
not until then does the apparent 
unanimity of collegiate 'interests' 
dissolve into a variety of individu- 
al applications/'^ (2) Students 
are attracted to courses in litera- 
ture and languages because these 
are better known and more 
strongly intrenched than the sci- 
ences which were a later addition 
to the curriculum. (3) Other fac- 
tors which influence election are 
geographical location, and envi- 
ronment, popularity of the facul- 
ty in certain departments, college 
tradition, and any number of 
chance factors. 

A study of the kind just de- 
scribed is, however, a valuable in- 
dication of present conditions and, 
if it be repeated from time to 
time, the results would undoubt- 
edly show in what directions wom- 
en's interests are trending; but 
this information would never 
fully answer our question whether 
they are developing in the right 
direction. 

Nor does the voluminous litera- 
ture concerning the abilities of 
men and women give much assist- 
ance- in solving the problem, for 
the usual treatment of the subject 
is not based upon experiment and 
ranges all the way from careful 
observations upon the work and 
achievements of women to the- 
oretical comparisons based on a 
priori assumptions. It is to be 
noted also that the latter are 
often neither scientific nor dis- 

1 Ibid., p. 298. 



passionate. In fact some degener- 
ate into mere wrangling, with 
the author's conclusions deter- 
mined in advance. The chief 
value which this so-called litera- 
ture of opinion possesses is found 
in the suggestions it may offer 
concerning new aspects of the 
problem or new points of attack. 
The hope of a real solution 
rests mainly upon scientific ex- 
periment, but since this is a com- 
paratively new field, work has not 
yet been carried far enough to 
justify any sweeping conclusions. 
A summary of such experimental 
results as have been secured is 
given by Dr. Leta S. Holling- 
worth in a chapter on the voca- 
tional aptitudes of women.- The 
following statements summarize 
her conclusions: (1) "So far as 
the literature of fact tells us, we 
know of no considerable sex dif- 
ferences in average mental abili- 
ty, .which would call for dif- 
ferentiation of vocations on the 
ground of sex."^ (2) "There 
is little or no agreement among 
those best qualified to speak, as 
to what constitutes the scientific 
method of measuring compara- 
tive variability. But according 
to the methods now deemed the 
most reliable, and according to 
those studies wherein presumably 
correct methods of measurement 
have been employed, there is no 
reason to suppose that there is 
any sex difference in variability, 
so far as the numerous traits 



- H. L. HoUiiigworth: Vocational 
Psychology, 1916. Chap. X. 

Cf. also L. S. HoUing'worth : Com- 
parison of the Sexes in Mental Traits, 
Psych. Bull, Vol. 15, No. 12, pp. 427-432. 

^iJbicl., p. 228. 



24 



tested are concerned."* (3) To 
the qiiestioii whether there are 
any special causes of intellectual 
inefiBiciency among women (in par- 
ticular, functional periodicity) 
"we must answer. . : There is very 
little experimental evidence on 
which to base a reply, but the few 
data which we do possess show 
no influence, either detrimental 
or beneficial."' (4) "Are there 
Siny innate sex differences in af- 
fective or instinctive equipment 
that would naturally lead to a 
vocational differentiation of the- 
sexes? Here we must acknowl- 
edge ourselves to be entirely with- 
out a literature of fact." ' 

The last question raised is the 
most fundainental and the lack 
of experimental data is therefore 
a great handicap. In view of 
physiological differences between 
the sexes one would naturally 
suppose that there would be some 
corresponding psychological dif- 
ferences, — perhaps in the organi- 
zation of abilities com'mon to both 
sexes, perhaps in the abilities 
themselves. In the first case, it 
might be discovered by experi- 
ment that the interests of women 
focus about concrete situations 
and problems; in the second, it 
might be demonstrated that wom- 
en excel in some specific ability or 
abilities, such as memory. This 
need not argue a general inferi- 
ority or superiority of woimen 
over men, but it would point to 
a differentiation in vocation which 
might take several forms : (1) the 
choice of different kinds of pro- 
fessions; (2) the development of 
new professions for women, be- 



4 Ibid., p. 233. Cf. L. S. Holling- 
worth: Variability as Belated to Sex 
Differences in Achievement. Amer. J. 
of Sociol., 1914. Vol. 19, pp. 510-530. 



cause such a large proportion of 
present vocational training is di- 
rected toward occupations which 
a comparatively small number of 
women choose, for example, law 
and medicine; (3) differentation 
within the professions, for in- 
stance, in business — secretarial 
work for women, executive work 
for men. The foregoing is, of 
course, only a suggestion since 
experiment may show that there 
are no marked psychological dif- 
ferences between men and wom- 
en. This will be a difficult prob- 
lem to solve experimentally since 
it is complicated by the existence 
of individual differences and by 
the marked effects of training and 
social convention which early 
inake their mark on the individu- 
al. 

The whole question of the na- 
ture of the professional training 
best adapted to the needs of col- 
lege women can be answered only 
by the carefully studied results 
of wide experience and by direct 
experimentation. Toward this 
end all institutions which provide 
college or university training for 
women should co-operate with 
one another and with the various 
outside agencies already at work. 
The independent colleges for 
women are in a particularly favor- 
able position to do this since they 
need to consider the problem in 
the interests of but one of the 
sexes and have therefore greater 
freedom for experimentation. 
But the affiliated and coeduca- 
tional institutions are also vitally 
concerned. "Theoretically", says . 
Dexter, "the same instruction for 
both sexes is right, only if the 
aim of education is identical for 
the two, i. e., if they are to be 

1 op. cit. p. 237. 



25 



eompetitoi's in the same kinds of 
work. "^ But until the truth 
or falsity of this is demonstrated, 
institutions of this type cannot 



1 E. G. Dextev: History of Educa- 
tion in tlic United States. 1904. p. 450. 



claim to give equal educational 
rights to men and women. What 
they really give to women is the 
right to share equally in a kind 
of education which was developed 
originally to meet the needs of 
men. 



